Season's Greetings

At this time of the year I always feel the need to thank all the people who have been supporting my art throughout the year. 2014 has been a year full of positive events, lots of art, and encouraging prospects for the future. My most sincere gratitude goes to all those who decided to make my art part of their daily lives. All your contributions not only allowed me to keep making art, they also allowed me to contribute in turn, to some charities I have been supporting for a while like Birdlife Australia, Birds Queensland, ANTaR (Australians for National Title and Reconciliation) and the Queensland Wader Study Group. 

This is a female Hardhead Duck, Aythya australis, from the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. Hardhead ducks do not have bright colours as many other species of ducks but looking closer I could see very interesting and subtle variations of iridescent purple, orange and brown red.

 I'm very excited to attend the Brisbane book launch for the childrens' book 'Poss in Boots' written by Lindsay Owen and illustrated by myself. The book launch will take place in the beautiful location of The Talking Circle, State Library of Queensland, Southbank, Brisbane on Thursday, January 15 at 11am. As music is part of the book's story there will be live folk music as well as light refreshments. It is a free event for which we have to thank the State Library of Queensland for supporting local creativity. Children of any age are very welcome. The State Library of Queensland Shop is currently selling the books.

  Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year,

MG

Christmas Ideas and a New Painting

I developed this watercolour after taking some photos of this immature Australian King-parrot on the front veranda, the patchy red of the head shows that this is a young male, with time the green feathers of its head will change to a bright red. Below is the first sketch I drew on my sketchbook with some colour studies to find the right mixes and colour harmonies.

Immature Australian King-parrot, watercolour on paper, 16.5 x 23.5 cm, © Matteo Grilli 2014

Christmas is getting closer, it's never too early to order a unique and original gift from my online store, with more than 140 items to choose from and an array of original works (worldwide free shipping), greeting cards, bookmarks, reproductions, a children's book, and more, there is something for any taste and budget. If you are overseas or your order is going to be sent outside of Australia, make sure to order before December 4th to allow enough time for your gift to be processed and delivered. If your gift stays in Australia, you should order by December 18th.

And, if one artwork is not enough, why not ordering a copy of my book 'Watercolour Explorations on Australian Wildlife' containing a large collection of artworks completed between 2010 and 2013?

Until next time,

MG

New painting, a new gallery opening soon and a new book just released

This amazing creature visited the outside of my studio a few times in the summer, I enjoyed getting lost in the detail and movement of all those sinuous scale patterns. This image is available as a greeting card.

Carpet Python, watercolour and white gouache on colored board, 40 x 30 cm,© Matteo Grilli

Recently I was invited to feature my artwork in a new art and craft gallery called Coastal Artisans, opening soon in Perigian Beach. A selection of my original framed watercolours with a sea/beach theme will be featuring the collection. For more information on the event see the attached brochure.

Last weekend I had the pleasure to spend a couple of days in the lovely country town of Crows Nest where Lindsay Owen and I  launched the Children's Book "Poss in Boots' at the Arts and Crafts centre.

We've enjoyed meeting so many people and signing the books, Lindsay wrote the story about four years ago and then asked me to work on the illustrations, it took a while but eventually Lindsay was able to independently publish her book.

'A blue wooden house with a large veranda, a local Bush Band and a little possum with loads of determination and rhythm'.

This cute 14-page book will tell you the story of a little possum with a special love for dancing and music among the inhabitants, animal and human, of the Australian bush...

Order Your Copy

 

Book Launch and New Greeting Cards

About three years ago my friend Lindsay Owen wrote a Children's Book about a possum... I had the pleasure to make the illustrations for it and now we are very happy to be able to launch the book in the beautiful and picturesque high country of the Downs,  in the town of Crows Nest. The launch will be on October the 11th and 12th, 10am-4pm at the Crows Nest Community Arts and Crafts Inc, 18 William Street, Crows Nest QLD 4355. The book 'Poss in Boots' and the original illustrations will be available for children of any age.

It will be a nice opportunity to meet up if you find yourself in South-east Queensland...

Also, my publisher Nuovo Group has just produced a new range of greeting cards with my artwork, here you can see some examples and if you follow the links you'll be able to order some if you wish. On my Etsy shop there are also a lot of new and old original and unique artworks sent for free anywhere in the world, just thinking about Christmas...

Best,

MG

Mini Square Greeting Cards

Square Greeting Cards

Regular Greeting Cards

Regular Greeting Cards

Free Postage Original Art

Gondwana Morning Rain

Gondwana Morning Rain, watercolour on paper, 35 x 35 cm, © Matteo Grilli

The Gondwana rainforests are some of the oldest rainforests in the world. I was at the Lamington National Park and I was out for an early morning bird walk, I saw many species of birds but at some point my attention was grabbed by the sight of these two Australian Brush-turkeys, still perched, despite the daylight, on their roosting branches under the rain.

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Wedge-tailed Eagle, watercolour on paper, 20 x 30 cm, © Matteo Grilli

Little Corella on Jacaranda

Little Corella on Jacaranda, watercolour on paper, 30 x 37 cm, © Matteo Grilli

Eastern Water Dragon

Eastern Water Dragon,
pencil and watercolour on paper,
26 x 34 cm,
© Matteo Grilli

Base pencil drawing just before adding watercolour

Eastern Water Dragons are a common sight along Brisbane waterways. Before and during the breeding season it's easy to see males fighting for supremacy. Sometimes they like to bask in the sun on branches overhanging water, if they feel threatened they will drop down in the water and swim away with their head out of the water or totally submerged. 

Koala

New Book Release: Watercolour Explorations on Australian Wildlife Vol.1

I am very happy to announce the recent release of my self-published book Watercolour Explorations on Australian Wildlife Vol.1, 90 pages, 7 × 7 in / 18 × 18 cm, available in soft cover, hard cover with dust jacket or hard cover image wrap and as an eBook.

  'After witnessing the beauty of Nature, often rises a compelling need to capture its fleeting essence to make it visible once again, to linger on that beauty, giving it that little bit more permanence allowed by art. My ultimate goal was to draw the attention to that beauty and to share it. Watercolour explorations on Australian Wildlife is a tribute to nature. It is also a collection of watercolours and drawings completed between 2010 and 2013 in and around Brisbane, Australia.'

 Watercolour Explorations on Australian Wildlife Vol.1 would make a perfect gift for anyone interested in Australian wildlife and nature, birds, natural history, watercolour art, birdwatching or travel, for grown ups and children alike. By clicking on the link above you will be able to see a preview of the book. Feel free to share it with your contacts. 

Thank you. 

MG

Sleeping Koala

One of my latest works, Sleeping Koala, watercolour on paper, 25 x 25 cm.